Border Patrol agent Jerome Conlin

Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

U.S. Border Patrol agent Jerome Conlin gazes across the base of Otay Mountain at a recently completed stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border fence. The 3.6 mile long, 18-ft-high barrier through rugged terrain east of San Ysidro cost $57.7 million to construct.

U.S. Border Patrol agent Jerome Conlin gazes across the base of Otay Mountain at a recently completed stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border fence. The 3.6 mile long, 18-ft-high barrier through rugged terrain east of San Ysidro cost $57.7 million to construct. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Border Patrol agent Jerome Conlin gazes across the base of Otay Mountain at a recently completed stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border fence. The 3.6 mile long, 18-ft-high barrier through rugged terrain east of San Ysidro cost $57.7 million to construct.